Steven Spielberg

Perhaps the world's most famous filmmaker, Steven Spielberg succeeded in combining the intimacy of personal vision with the requirements of the modern commercial blockbuster. Though his astonishing su...
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Actress Anne Heche will go on national television tonight to talk about how the sexual abuse she suffered from her father until she was 12 drove her "insane," Reuters reported.
"I remember entering the bed with him many times. I went through fighting to get him off me. I went through screaming at my mother. I went through the terror of thinking I was going to die. I went through thoughts of wanting to die," the actress confesses.
Heche, 32, who married cameraman Coleman Laffoon on Saturday, also tells Barbara Walters on ABC's 20/20 that she suffered from a split personality. Her alter ego's name was Celestia and she talked to God.
The actress will also talk about her mental breakdown, which lasted until after her breakup with comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who she touts as "the best sex I ever had," The New York Post reported.
Weddings
Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis married her surgeon boyfriend of two years, Dr. Reza Jarrahy, 30, on Saturday in a small private ceremony in Wainscott, N.Y., her publicist has confirmed. "We are very happy and we look forward to spending the rest of our lives together," the couple said in a brief statement. This is the fourth marriage for Davis, 45, who was previously married to restaurant manager Richard Emmolo, actor Jeff Goldblum and director Renny Harlin.
Deaths
The four-foot, one-inch tall Howard Stern sidekick known as "Hank the Dwarf" died Tuesday at the age of 39. The cause of his death is still undisclosed. Hank appeared more than two dozen times on the Howard Stern radio show, always wearing his infamous pink bunny suit. Ironically, he was voted the Most Beautiful Person in the World in People magazine's 1998 poll.
Reverend Gesner Jean, a Newark minister and father of the hip-hop star Wyclef Jean died at a South Orange, N.J. hospital after an accident that pinned him between his garage door and a car. Police are still investigating the accident, The Associated Press reported.
Honored
The Gospel Music Association announced on Tuesday that it will induct the king of rock n' roll, Elvis Presley, into its Hall of Fame. Presley will be honored along with other musicians including Doris Akers, Wendy Bagwell &amp; The Sunliters, Keith Green, Kurt Kaiser, Larry Norman, The Rambos and Albertina Walker. "This year's class of inductees is outstanding and represents the wide diversity and musical heritage of Christian and gospel music," GMA President Frank Breeden told AP. The induction ceremony will take place in Nashville, Tenn. on Nov. 27.
Kenneth Branagh received an honorary degree on Sunday from The University of Birmingham for helping to popularize the work of William Shakespeare, Reuters reported. The actor has brought Shakespeare's plays to mainstream audiences in film adaptations such as Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing. "I am delighted to be associated with an institute that has done so much to further cooperation between the theatre and academic life," Branagh said in a statement.
Director Spike Lee will be honored by the Directors Guild of America on Nov. 17 for "ushering in a climate of newfound respect for African-American filmmakers and actors," USA Today reported on Tuesday.
In General
Eminem and his mentor, Dr. Dre, will take the stage at the Michael Jackson 30-year celebration, being held on Sept. 7 and 10 at New York's Madison Square Garden, ABCNEWS.com reported. It is still unclear what the rapper will perform at the event.
Mariah Carey has postponed a Sept. 12 interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters because "she needs more time to rest," Carey's spokeswoman Cindi Berger said in a statement. The 31-year-old singer has been staying with her mother since she was treated at a Connecticut clinic last month for exhaustion. No new date for the interview was given.
Nicole Kidman has joined British singer Robbie Williams on a duet of Frank Sinatra's classic, "Something Stupid," on his Swing When You're Winning Sinatra tribute album. Reuters reported. Williams invited the actress to sing on the album after he heard her singing for the film Moulin Rouge. "I have no desire to be a singer. I just did that for fun. I think he's very talented. I had a giggle," Kidman told Reuters.
Tom Cruise ranks 26th among the Top 50 leaders of the information age according to a list compiled by Vanity Fair magazine this month. Cruise is the only actor and one of the highest new entrants on a list dominated by entertainment and technology companies, Reuters reported. The magazine has called Cruise "one of the savviest businessmen in Hollywood," saying that he negotiated a back-end deal on last year's Mission: Impossible 2 that earned him about $75 million.
ABC is working on a musical adaptation of 1984's Footloose, which could air as a two-hour movie as early as next May, Reuters reported. Unlike the film, however, the characters will actually sing the songs in the movie. The network also announced last week that it is developing updates of Grease, Annie and Cinderella.
After Warner Bros. purchased the movie rights to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, the studio commented that they had wanted director Steven Spielberg to take part in the project, hoping he'd turn the film into a major franchise, People magazine reported. Spielberg, however, said that the project wasn't challenging enough for him to undertake. "I purposely didn't want to do the Harry Potter movie because for me, that was shooting ducks in a barrel. Just a slam dunk," he told Vanity Fair magazine. "It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There is no challenge," he said.

Steven Spielberg, who chose not to direct Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, to PageSix.com on why making the movie held no interest for him.
"I purposely didn't do the Harry Potter movie because for me, that was shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge."

Top Story
As Moulin Rouge premiered in London on Monday, attention seemed to be on the film's star, Nicole Kidman. According to Reuters, Kidman told reporters that she is considering a return to the British stage and has talked to director Sam Mendes about the possibility. She said the play would probably be at the Donmar Warehouse, the same theater where she made her London debut in The Blue Room.
Prince Charles, who attended the premiere, took time to chat with Kidman and said he was interested to see what the sequined cancan dancers had to do. The dancers were there as part of the glitzy British premiere.
Kidman also turned heads last week when she appeared at the Venice Film Festival with Italian film producer Fabrizio Mosca. This is the first time Kidman has dated publicly since her divorce from Tom Cruise was finalized Aug. 8. The two were also spotted holding hands at the Cannes festival in May.
Deaths
New Yorker magazine film critic Pauline Kael died on Monday at her home in Massachusetts after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, Reuters reports. Kael, 82, grew up in San Francisco and began writing about film in 1955, supplying detailed notes on the movies she programmed while running the Berkley Cinema Guild and Studio. She began writing for the New Yorker in the mid-1960s. She retired in 1991 after her Parkinson's disease worsened. She told Modern Maturity magazine that she felt she had nothing new to say. "Old critics tend to be tiresome," she said. "I didn't want to be one of those old farts."
In General
Christina Aguilera and Jimmy Smits will co-host the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards to be broadcast on Sept. 11 from the Forum in Los Angeles on CBS. Michael Greene, President/CEO of the Recording Academy and the Latin Recording Academy also announced that Marc Anthony will performing as well as and Destiny's Child.
A free concert in Hollywood featuring alt-rock band System of A Down went awry Monday night after fans went on a rampage. The trouble began after many more concertgoers than were expected turned up for the show to be held outside the club Vinyl. When it appeared that the band was not going to perform after all, the fans rioted. According to Reuters, the audience trashed the stage set up in the venue's parking lot and threw rocks and bottles at police who used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Six people were arrested and charged with various offenses, including assault with a deadly weapon, felony vandalism and receiving stolen property. The group was promoting their new album Toxicity, which is due in stores on Tuesday.
Courtney Love and Don Henley will attend a hearing in Los Angeles on Wednesday to denounce California's 1987 amendment that allows music labels to sue artists for undelivered albums after seven years. Opponents of the amendment claim artists are often strong-armed into accepting impossible terms when signing record contracts.
Jerry Lewis' 36th annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon raised a record $56.8 million this Labor Day weekend, the Associated Press reports. The show featured a variety of celebrity co-hosts including Ed McMahon, Norm Crosby and Casey Kasem.
The American Film Institute will announce on Tuesday plans to hold its own awards show in January on CBS, according to AP. Scheduled for Jan. 5, the event will occur two weeks before the Golden Globes and two months before the Academy Awards. The AFI will also honor TV's best drama and comedy series, as well as name the top 10 movies of the year.
Billboard announced last week the winners of its first R&amp;B/Hip-Hop Awards, AP reports. Misiq Soulchild led the winners with four awards, while R. Kelly took home three. Other winners include Shaggy, Jill Scott and OutKast.
Steven Spielberg will not be attending the Venice Film Festival this year because of religious commitments, Reuters reports. Spielberg has instead sent a seven-minute video to festival organizers to be shown before the screening of his film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. Spielberg said his son's Bar Mitzvah, as well putting finishing touches on his latest film Minority Report, have kept him from attending the festival. A.I. will screen in Venice on Sept. 6.
Grand Royal, the Beastie Boys' record label, is closing its doors after eight years. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the label blamed mounting debts, decreasing assets and exceedingly harsh industry conditions for the closure. The Beastie Boys founded Grand Royal in 1993 and were the first top-selling artists to form an independent record label.
ABC is planning a follow-up to the 1978 hit movie Grease, which starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, BBC News reports. The film would drop in on the characters 20 years after the first Grease, which was set at mythical Rydell High School in the 1950s. Didi Conn, who played high school dropout Frenchy, will be producing the film. Conn said that viewers would learn about the original characters through their children.

We all knew this was going to happen at some point. When Madonna had a baby with quirky British director Guy Ritchie and then married him, it was just a matter of time before she'd star in one of his movies. Madonna is just as hot as she can be right now, coming off of her "Drowned World" concert tour and spectacular HBO special, and Ritchie is staking a claim in the world indies with his cult hits Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Now Ritchie plans on directing a remake of Lina Wertmuller's 1974 Italian film Swept Away about a spoiled rich woman who goes on a Mediterranean cruise with her husband and friends. The boat's captain is a communist who loathes his clients, but when he and the woman are stranded on a desert island, they end up falling in love. Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days) is in negotiations to play the woman's husband, an evil industrialist. The original film starred Mariangelo Melato and Giancarlo Giannini as the combustible lovers. Who the heck is going to generate that same heat with Madonna? Certainly not Willem Dafoe--he already tried that in Body of Evidence and it just didn't work out. Maybe Ritchie should think about acting?
Bullock and Grant in office romance
Sandy and Hugh, sitting in a tree.... The two likeable stars, Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant, are pairing for the first time in an untitled romantic comedy from Castle Rock Entertainment and directed by first time helmer/writer Mark Lawrence. Although the plot is being kept closely under wraps, the film apparently explores the question of whether it's ever too late to say "I love you." As a romantic myself, I say of course it isn't!
Bullock's character, Lucy Kelson, is described as a brilliant but slightly neurotic attorney, with Grant playing her charming, irresponsible and ridiculously wealthy boss. Hey, wait a minute. Didn't Grant already play a charming and irresponsible boss to Renee Zellweger's Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones' Diary? Guess this is getting to be a habit for him.
Also, I just discovered that Bullock has finished filming Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood with Ashley Judd for Warner Bros., based on the fabulous best-selling novel of the same name. If you are huge fan of the book, which I am, you can get excited about this one.
A "Cold" day for Cruise
No, this has nothing to do with his divorce from ice princess Nicole Kidman. However,Tom Cruise is eyeing the big screen adaptation of another best-selling novel Cold Mountain to be his next feature film, a co-production between MGM and Miramax.
Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) wrote and will direct the adaptation about a wounded Confederate soldier (Cruise) who, in the final days of the Civil War, walks home to North Carolina to the woman he loves. However, Cruise isn't in yet. Other big names have been attached including Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks and Daniel Day-Lewis. So, we'll see who the best man for the job is.
Personally, I'd pick Daniel Day-Lewis, if he was available. He'd bring that quiet intensity he's known for to a role that sounds right up his alley.
Hanks is caught
If you remember last week's column, I mentioned director Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks were finally going to get the intriguing story Catch Me If You Can off the ground. The film centers around Frank Abagnale Jr., an imposter and counterfeiter in the 1960s who was the youngest person to ever be on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List. The film already has Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star as Abagnale and now it looks like Tom Hanks may play the role of FBI agent Joe Shaye. Shaye tracked down and captured Abagnale after six years, and during their cat-and-mouse game Shaye and Abagnale came to enjoy their interaction and ultimately became friends. Shaye was instrumental in getting Abagnale released from prison after five years on the condition that he teach and assist federal law enforcement agencies--without pay. Abagnale is now 53 and currently lectures extensively at the FBI Academy.
Prince Charming is a cad
Hyde Park Entertainment has picked up the pitch Long Ago and Far Away from writers David Titcher and Diane Saltzberg. This really isn't a role call yet, but I had to mention this because I just love the idea. The story combines several classic fairy tales to tell the story of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty who all come to find out they are married to the same Prince Charming. Now, if I were casting this, here's a few suggestions: Helen Hunt as Sleeping Beauty, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Snow White, Gwyneth Paltrow as Cinderella and George Clooney as Prince Charming. Let's see if my choices are anywhere near close.
A hip-hop "9 to 5"
Will Smith wants to remake 9 to 5 with an all-black cast, and gosh darnit, he should go for it! We all remember the delightful 1980 film with Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, as co-workers who are disgruntled with their sexist and abusive boss. Through a series of wild events the trio ends up kidnapping him and running the office themselves. Of course, in a Smith world, he'd most likely cast himself as the boss and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith as one of his girls. As well as remake that Dolly Parton song with a definite hip-hop beat. I can see the video now.

The Bond fans' Web site, www.bond20.com, dedicated to provide information about the latest James Bond movie, has failed in its mission, the producers told Reuters on Wednesday.
Eon Productions, responsible for the upcoming Bond film, said the script featured on the Web site does not belong to them. The production company added that the plot was the product of a fan's overactive imagination.
"The film hasn't got a name yet. It's only in the very beginning of pre-production," a spokeswoman for Eon Productions said.
Ailing
Controversial Nazi-era film maker Leni Riefenstahl, recently told German magazine Bunte that she was taking morphine to relieve the pain for her severe back pain. She survived a helicopter crash in 2000 while vacationing in Sudan, Africa where she was taking photographs. Riefenstahl turns 99 on Wednesday.
Divorced
The Early Show host Bryant Gumbel and his wife June Gumbel, ended their 27-year marriage on Tuesday. Accusations that the talk-show host cheated on his wife with a series of mistresses surround the proceedings, the Associated Press reports. Details on the agreement were sealed.
Honored
Academy Award winning actress Angelina Jolie will be named United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in Geneva next Monday, the U.N. refugee agency told Reuters on Wednesday. Jolie has already visited refugee camps in Sierra Leone and Cambodia, and is currently in Pakistan.
Arrests
Former Survivor contestant Richard Hatch was arrested in Middletown, R.I. on Tuesday for a domestic dispute with his boyfriend, reports television entertainment show Access Hollywood. After turning himself in, Hatch was released on his own recognizance and was ordered to be in court on Sept. 7 to face misdemeanor charges of assault.
In Court
Kate Hudson's former personal assistant, Margaret Miller, is planning to counter-sue the film star for wrongful termination and defamation, her lawyer Arthur Barens told Reuters on Tuesday. Hudson has sued her assistant for spending $63,000 on limousines, hotel rooms, plane tickets, and other personal expenses.
In General
ABC anchorman Jack Ford says he is going elsewhere if the network doesn't make him a host of Good Morning America or give him another high-profile anchor slot, the Associated Press reports. During his initial negotiations with ABC, Ford was told co-host Charlie Gibson was going to be on the show with Diane Sawyer temporarily to increase ratings, but the coupling turned out to be a match made in ratings heaven, removing the temporary tag from Gibson's assignment.
Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell and his wife, Leighanne, have formed BriLeigh Prods., a music label and entertainment production company in association with Insight Entertainment Group, reports Reuters. The main focus is to launch a recording label, but the company has plans to produce both films and television shows by the end of 2002.
Pop group Destiny's Child recently purchased a recording studio in Houston from Texas Justice star Larry Joe Doherty. "This town is thirsty for something natinal and what Matthew Knowles [DC's manager] has going is international," Doherty told the Los Angeles Times last month.
Tony Danza will host the 81st annual Miss America Pageant, airing Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. on ABC. Bob Bain, the producer of the telecast, told The Associated Press that Danza's charm, enthusiasm and energy would complement the format changes of the show. This year the contest will feature quiz shows, reality TV, and an opportunity for contestants to vote for the winner.
Brendan Fraser will next be seen playing the role of Brick in the Tennessee Williams classic A Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, when the play opens in London next month, reports Reuters. Ned Beatty will join Fraser on the British stage.
Having closed in 1996 after Burt Reynolds lost the property due to bankruptcy, The Burt Reynolds Museum might come to life again. Florida town council members gave the museum a new, temporary home in an old bank building, says The Associated Press. Reynolds' 160-acre estate, which served as the old museum, was bought by a Palm Beach County school district for $3.85 million in 1999. All the memorabilia has been in storage ever since.
Did you know that Eminem has Scottish roots? Neither did we. But Betty Kresin, the controversial entertainer's grandmother, told the Daily Record (Kansas) newspaper that she was thrilled the rapper was giving a concert in the land of his forebears.
Steven Spielberg is set to direct and produce Catch Me, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. According to Reuters, the film is based on Frank Abagnale's 1980 memoir about the youngest man ever placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List. The project is eyeing a January production start.
Howard Stern is being considered for immortalization at the Madame Tussaud Wax Museum in New York City, the shock jock told his listeners on Tuesday's show. "Why would someone do this unless their ego is massive?" Stern said.

Well, well, little Miss Quirky and Dark Christina Ricci is joining the ever-growing ranks of actors-turned-directors. Is it written somewhere that an actor has to direct to feel truly complete? Sure, there are a few who are actually pretty good at it. But a young 'un like Ricci? We'll wait to pass judgment. At least the project she's picked is right up her alley--the indie feature Speed Queen. It's a simple and happy film about a fast-food clerk (played by Ricci, of course) who goes on a wild--and deadly--road trip with a man and woman and then tells her story to a best-selling author while on death row. The style sounds eerily familiar to another dark comedy Ricci starred in called The Opposite of Sex, where the entire story is told through narration by the main character. Yet, Ricci is playing it smart--she's chosen something that doesn't seem too hard to direct and she's sticking to what she does best--playing the bad girl you almost root for.
Jackson and Lopez go Tick-Tock
...Just like two little mice, running up and down a clock. Hey, I like that! Wait until you hear the premise and tell me if you don't think that should be the tagline to the film. Samuel L. Jackson and Jennifer Lopez are starring in a new Columbia Pictures film called Tick-Tock about an amnesiac who wakes up in the custody of the FBI and finds out he is the prime suspect in a series of bombings in Los Angeles. So, like, the mice running around, trying to find ticking bombs--get it? Damn it, I should be a development executive.
The Red Dragon grows
Any film that has Edward Norton in it piques my interest. He's just one of those actors that picks the most compelling projects. For example, I didn't want to see Fight Club when it first came out, but when I did finally see it, I was floored. Same with American History X. So, I trust his judgment. Now, he and another very fine actress, Emily Watson, are in negotiations to join Anthony Hopkins in Red Dragon, Universal Pictures' prequel to the Hannibal Lecter series. I was a little skeptical when I first heard about this because I'm a fan of Michael Mann's Manhunter, based on the same best-selling Lecter novel by Thomas Harris. But now that Norton is on board, it's sounding better.
The story follows special FBI agent Will Graham (Norton), who is brought out of retirement to track down a serial killer named Red Dragon. In order to catch the killer, Graham, who was once almost one of Lecter's (Hopkins) victims, has to ask Lecter, who is now behind bars, for help. Watson will play Reba, a blind woman the wacko Red Dragon works with. If they can get a great person to play the killer, we are in business. Maybe Tom Hanks would want to try something completely different. Damn it, I should be a casting director.
Another TV movie makes it to the big screen
No, they aren't making A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story into a feature film (although I wouldn't put it past them). But once again Hollywood executives are taking what I think is material for a television movie and putting it on the big screen. It happens often, and really, it's a crying shame. In this case, the movie being made is the family drama--that should tip you off right there--Laurel Canyon with Christian Bale and Frances McDormand. In it, Bale plays a straitlaced young man who returns to his supposedly now-vacant childhood home with his fiancée after completing medical school to find his pot-smoking, record-producing mom (McDormand) still living there. He feels utter contempt for his mother's lifestyle, but when his fiancée gets lured into the dark ways of the rock 'n' roll world, mother and son must reconcile to get her back. Wow. The thing is, they disguise these dreadful sounding movies by casting top level talent to star in them. And that's supposed to make it better. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way.
Spielberg's big Catch
After a whirlwind change of hands, it looks like director Steven Spielberg is going to direct Catch Me If You Can for DreamWorks, with Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star. I like the sound of this one. The film takes its material from the real-life story of Frank Abagnale Jr., the youngest man to make the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list. Apparently, he successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a doctor, an assistant attorney general and a history professor from 1964-66. He also cashed more than $4 million in fraudulent checks in 26 foreign countries. After he was caught, he became a consultant to the bureau. The film itself has been in development for several years with many A-list directors interested, including Cameron Crowe, Milos Forman, Gore Verbinski and Lasse Hallstrom. DiCaprio has been attached all along but has had to push back the start date until he finished shooting Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. James Gandolfini was going to star opposite but had to bow out as well. Well, OK, Stevie, it's up to you now--get that thing made!

Deaths
TV and movie composer Jack Elliott died at 74 on Saturday of a brain tumor at the UCLA Medical Center, The Associated Press reports. Elliott was diagnosed with the tumor three weeks ago. He was one of the top composers in Hollywood, creating themes for hit TV shows like Barney Miller, Charlie's Angels and The Love Boat. In film, he often teamed up with director Carl Reiner and worked on projects including The Comic, Where's Papa?, The Jerk and Oh God.
In General
Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart has been suspended because of allegations he violated the paper's policies when he tried to sell movie scripts while he was editor, Inside.com reports. The allegations were made in a story published in the September issue of Los Angeles magazine by former Los Angeles Times reporter Amy Wallace. Wallace also quotes Bart making a number of racially charged remarks. Bart is denying the allegations and is threatening to sue the magazine.
Actress Penélope Cruz says she is taking a holiday after doing several back-to-back films, AP reports. Cruz started acting at the age of 15 on Spanish TV and has appeared in close to 30 films, including Belle Epoque, All the Pretty Horses and Captain Corelli's Mandolin. She will also be starring in the upcoming romantic thriller Vanilla Sky alongside her new beau Tom Cruise. Cruz plans on studying photography during her brief film hiatus.
It seems pop star Britney Spears will be endorsing more than Pepsi Cola. According to ABC News, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has enlisted the help of the singer for the design of their new Web site, pleatheryourself.com. The site will promote the use of the leather substitute pleather, Spears' apparent favorite material.
Clint Eastwood said in the September Issue of Gear magazine that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were currently his favorite actresses. Eastwood, of course, was joking. In the interview, which was conducted by Craig Kilborn, Eastwood also said that his grandchildren call him an "a-hole." When Kilborn reminded the actor that his comments would end up in print, the 71-year-old actor replied, "What do I care? I've already had a good career."
Steven Spielberg has completed his foundation's mission to collect the accounts of more than 50,000 Holocaust survivors on videotape, Reuters reports. The Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation will use the taped accounts to educate and help overcome prejudice, intolerance and bigotry.
The first New York Korean Film Festival made its debut on Friday, opening with the gruesome thriller Tell Me Something, Reuters reports. A total of 11 films will be showcased during the festival, which runs through August 26. Other films shown include Joint Security Area, Attack at the Gas Station, The Foul King and The Isle.
A man was arrested and charged after he climbed on stage and ran towards singer Kylie Minogue during a concert, BBC News reports. Minogue was performing at the V2001 rock festival in Hylands Park near London. Security immediately grabbed the man and led him away. The two-day concert event also featured performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Texas, Coldplay and The Charlatans.

By Noah Davis &amp; Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com Staff
American Outlaws is yet another retelling of the legendary Jesse James and his wild ways. Our own Noah Davis and Kit Bowen discuss whether or not there's a need for another Western, what their favorite Westerns are and just how hot is new hunk of the moment, Colin Farrell.
Hollywood.com: Did Hollywood really need to make another movie about Jesse James? If so, where does this rank in the pantheon of movies about this Western legend?
Noah Davis: I think not. Since 1930 there have been more than 25 movies made about Jesse James, and with each one the story becomes more and more convoluted. (There was even a movie made called Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter!) Worse, this movie, American Outlaws insults our intelligence with a really lame script and clichéd plot line. The best movie about Jesse James is 1939's Jesse James, starring Tyrone Power as Jesse. The film, produced by the legendary Darryl F. Zanuck, set out to create an authentic chronicle of the outlaw and even hired Jo Francis James, Jesse's granddaughter, to help research and assemble material for the script. Zanuck's film tried neither to glorify nor condemn Jesse.
Kit Bowen: Wow, Noah, thanks for the history lesson, whether we wanted it or not. Westerns are a tough sell in today's fast-paced movie market. And Outlaws does absolutely nothing to improve upon the genre. I have to agree with Noah that the story was just one big cliché. It's too bad, really, 'cause the actors in it were pretty cute, especially Colin Farrell.
Noah Davis: I disagree with my historically challenged colleague. Westerns aren't a tough sell in today's "fast-paced market." Westerns can have great story lines, show great chase scenes and find new uses for dynamite that would rival the explosions in any other summer blockbuster. The sub-par American Outlaws, no matter how cute Colin Farrell may be, did make the production of the next Western that much harder.
Hollywood.com: What would you consider the last great American Western?
Kit Bowen: I don't particularly like the genre, but I did like the 1993 Tombstone with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer about Wyatt Earp and the bunch. However, the Oscar-winning Unforgiven is probably considered the best modern day Western. As far as older films go, I also liked Red River, The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Noah Davis: They should have buried Kit's favorite under it's own tombstone, a miserable piece of tripe that is. Kit is correct that Unforgiven is the best modern Western. And I would have to stay with Clint Eastwood for the best Western of all time, in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. (Apologies to John Wayne, who made many fine Westerns.)
Kit Bowen: Did you having trouble sleeping last night, Noah?
Hollywood.com: Going back to the one positive thing mentioned about American Outlaws--the good-looking guys--Colin Farrell was lauded by critics for his work in Tigerland. Will this movie have an impact on his career one way or the other?
Noah Davis: With three of Farrell's movies set to come out in 2002, including Steven Spielberg's Minority Report with Tom Cruise, Farrell's career is speeding along faster than a runaway stagecoach. Farrell wasn't the problem in American Outlaws, nor were the other actors, as the acting was generally OK. Farrell's smoldering good looks will earn him more and more female fans the more and more he is on the big screen, a fact that I am sure Kit's about to attest to.
Kit Bowen: Yes, indeed I am. Sometimes it's worth watching a movie only for the pretty people. Watching Farrell almost made Outlaws palatable. Almost. Farrell certainly could have a great career for himself if he chooses his projects well.
Noah Davis: Isn't there something else you wanted to say about Mr. Farrell?
Kit Bowen: Oh, right. Once again, he's just too damn cute.

Welcome to the dog days of summer.
Last weekend's release of American Pie 2 represented the summer's last sure thing.
Hollywood traditionally treats mid- to late August as a dumping ground, littering theaters with garbage in the hopes of making a quick buck before and during the Labor Day weekend. Think Chill Factor. The Crow: City of Angels. Knock Off. Highlander: Endgame. Get the picture?
This trash mentality no doubt explains the arrival of two of this weekend's new films: American Outlaws and Rat Race.
A Western that enthusiastically mythologizes the exploits of bank robber Jesse James, American Outlaws stars the hottest actor you've never heard of: Colin Farrell.
The Irish unknown won raves last year for his performance as a hardened solider in the gritty Tigerland. So what if distributor 20th Century Fox ignored the goodwill that the Joel Schumacher-directed Vietnam saga generated among critics and released it in only a handful of theaters? Hollywood took notice of Farrell.
Farrell suddenly became the actor to turn to when a studio's A-list choice dropped out of a hot project. He replaced Matt Damon in Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, Jim Carrey in Phone Booth and Edward Norton in Hart's War.
American Outlaws will provide American audiences with their first opportunity to acquaint themselves with Hollywood's hottest overnight sensation since Matthew McConaughey. Unfortunately, American Outlaws offers Farrell little to do except smile. And smile. Directed by Les Mayfield, American Outlaws plays like a third Young Guns. There are moments when you're waiting for Jon Bon Jovi to arrive and burst into "Wanted: Dead or Alive."
In recent years, Westerns have failed to make much of a bang at the box office. Even Wild Wild West, with its $113.8 million gross, was considered a major flop for Will Smith. If anything, with its unknown but rugged cast, American Outlaws should make more than Bad Girls' 15.1 million total but will probably fall short of the Brat Pack-driven Young Guns II's $40.1 million total.
Back in the late 1980s, famed producer Dino De Laurentiis tried in vain to create a Reagan-era It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Such was the disinterest in Million Dollar Mystery--headlined by, of all people, Eddie Deezen--ended up earning about the same amount of money that its greedy characters tried to get their grubby hands on.
Rat Race should fare better than Million Dollar Mystery, which ultimately contributed to the demise of De Laurentiis' mini-studio. For starters, Rat Race implicates Cuba Gooding Jr., John Cleese, Jon Lovitz, Rowan Atkinson and Whoopi Goldberg in a race to win $2 million stuffed in a locker in New Mexico. It also was directed by Jerry Zucker, who co-created the classic Airplane! before enjoying solo success with Ghost.
Still, the idea of a cross-country jaunt filled with supposedly hysterical repercussions seems creaky at best, especially given that Mad World director Stanley Kramer already mined a similar star-studded road trip for all it was worth. Also, theaters were only 60 percent filled for Rat Race previews held Saturday.
While the fate of American Outlaws and Rat Race seem dubious, Captain Corelli's Mandolin looks poised to capture many hearts this weekend.
That Universal delayed the World War II romance from spring to mid-summer seems fortuitous given the media hoopla surrounding Tom Cruise's new girlfriend, Penelope Cruz. Cruz is far from a box office certainty--Woman on Top made $5 million, All the Pretty Horses made $15.5 million--but the intense focus on her love life should ignite interest in the summer's second high-minded romance to employ war as its backdrop. Nicolas Cage--about to go to war for a second time in John Woo's upcoming Windtalkers--also should sell some tickets.
Cruz should deflect attention away from Captain Corelli's Mandolin's lukewarm reception this past spring in the United Kingdom. Audiences across the pond found the adaptation of Louis de Bernieres' much-loved novel lacking, resulting in a disappointing $10 million at the box office. Expectations also were high given that Captain Corelli's Mandolin marks director John Madden's first offering since his Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love.
Still, Captain Corelli's Mandolin doesn't have the potential to unseat American Pie 2 or Rush Hour 2 from, respectively, the No. 1 and 2 spots.
The second helping of American Pie laughed up $45.1 million in its opening weekend, the biggest haul yet for an R-rated comedy. That beat Scary Movie 2's opening by $2.8 million. Through Wednesday, American Pie 2 has rustled up $62 million, or more than half of its predecessor's $101.8 million total. If anything, this proves that, contrary to popular belief, the R-rated teen sex romp is alive, well and ready to score. With the significant lack of competition, American Pie 2 should retain the top spot this weekend, making it only the third film this summer to remain No. 1 for two consecutive weekends.
American Pie 2 also looks certain to join that exclusive club of films that rake in millions more than their predecessors. Rush Hour 2 earned its membership Tuesday, when the Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker action yarn hit $141.5 million. That's $400,000 more than Rush Hour made. Its total through Wednesday stands at $144.7 million.
Rush Hour 2 experienced a 51 percent drop in its second weekend--from $67.4 million to $33.1 million--continuing a trend that has plagued most of the summer's big guns. Still, that's $100,000 more than Rush Hour made in its opening weekend in September 1998. Rush Hour 2 also held up better in its second weekend than Planet of the Apes and Jurassic Park III, and of the three, it's the likeliest to make $200 million.
The Princess Diaries looks set to challenge Legally Blonde as the summer's biggest non-action sleeper. Director Garry Marshall's fairy tale dropped a modest 38 percent in its second weekend-from $22.9 million to $14.2 million-and has $58.5 million in its royal coffers through Wednesday. Legally Blonde, now in its fifth week, is up to $80.2 million.
Conversely, Osmosis Jones will wind up alongside Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and Original Sin as the summer's biggest flops. The prospect of taking a trip through Bill Murray's innards clearly seemed too nauseating for the audience, as the combination live action/animation family comedy opened with a disgusting $5.2 million. It's made $7.1 million through Wednesday.
Speaking of Original Sin, the Antonio Banderas-Angelina Jolie erotic thriller has managed to only scrape up $13.6 million in 12 days through Wednesday. That wasn't the only bad news for Banderas. His reissued Spy Kids made only $1.5 million last weekend, perhaps indicating that audiences only want to see a smash hit with new footage when it's issued on DVD.
If Captain Corelli's Mandolin is relying on the Cruz factor, then The Others is exploiting the Cruise factor to keep it scaring audiences. Starring Nicole Kidman and executive produced by ex-husband Tom Cruise, the summer's sole horror tale has scared up an impressive $19.5 million through Wednesday.
The moral of the story? Score an instant box office smash should you divorce a major Hollywood hotshot.
Hum, wonder whether that applies if you date a newly divorced major Hollywood hotshot?

Yes, yes, we know Halle Berry has shown her "guns" before. That's why millions of people went to see the pretty awful film Swordfish. However, we're talking real guns this time. She's in negotiations to join Ben Affleck (if he can stay off the booze) in Gigli, directed by Martin Brest for Revolution Studios. The premise of the film--I've talked about this one before, and it's still a doozy--centers on a lowly hit man (Affleck) who kidnaps the mentally challenged brother of a prominent district attorney. Berry will play a free-spirited gunslinger (please, is there any other kind?) sent in, ostensibly, to supervise the kidnapping but ends up partnering with the guy and going on the lam with him. Of course, through the process, he falls in love with her. Let's hope, through another strange and wild process, the title is somehow explained.
Down on the "Farm"
The newest hunk-o-rama in Hollywood, Colin Farrell, is set to star with Al Pacino in The Farm, a CIA thriller about an agent trainee (Farrell) who suspects his seasoned CIA instructor (Pacino) is a double agent. Production is to begin Nov. 1. OK, first, I'll talk about the movie, which sounds pretty average considering who is in it. But, sometimes, that's a good thing. What I really want to talk about is Irish-born Farrell. He made a big splash last year in the indie Tigerland and has been steadily rising in the ranks ever since. His most recent movie American Outlaws, where he plays outlaw Jesse James, opens in theaters this week, and he just finished wrapping Minority Report opposite Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg. For Farm, Farrell will receive a whooping $5 million, nearly double his usual asking price. And did I mention that he was damn cute? I did? OK, just checking.
Bound by "Rules
It's the gang from the WB, together once again. Well, at least parts of them. Jessica Biel (WB's 7th Heaven and the upcoming film Summer Catch) and James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek) will join Kip Pardue (Driven), Thomas Ian Nicholas (American Pie 2) and Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight's Tale) in the Lions Gate film The Rules of Attraction. The story, based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis (Less Than Zero), is set at the height of Reagan's 1980s in a small, affluent, liberal arts college in New England. It follows three students as they sort out a romantic triangle and other such travails of--and this is Variety's description--the "self-consciously postmodern undergrad." Ah. This sounds suspiciously like another movie about three college students who have to sort out romantic problems. Anyone remember the 1994 Threesome with Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin and Josh Charles? Which was actually a pretty good movie. Well, Rules certainly sounds like it should be on the WB. And maybe not on the big screen. But, alas, I'm not the one running the show out there.
Jolie on "Border" patrol
If anyone is truly interested, the film Beyond Borders has had a long history of being on-again, off-again at Mandalay Pictures. Now it's on-again, with Angelina Jolie attached to star and Martin Campbell (Vertical Limit) to direct. It's a love story that takes place during the course of many years and set against the backdrop of humanitarian efforts worldwide. OK, so we don't know too much about the script so far, but I'm sure we will at some point. Here's the history lesson: In 1999, Kevin Costner and Catherine Zeta-Jones were attached to star, with Oliver Stone directing. But the actors had to drop out after awhile to do other stuff. Costner came back in the picture in the spring of 2000, with Meg Ryan as a possible costar. But Jolie wanted it and signed. Still, things were not moving very fast. Costner left for good in fall 2000 to be replaced by Ralph Fiennes. Then production halted at the beginning of the year, so Stone and Fiennes said so long. Jolie went on to do another project but said she was still interested if and when the film came to fruition. And here we are! Welcome to the wacky world of filmmaking.
Yo "Mama"!
Miramax has snagged the project My Baby's Mama after an intense bidding war last week. Bidding wars still happen? Remember that much talked about industry practice, where a script is sent to major studios on a Friday, with a lot of hype attached to it, and is frantically bid upon over the weekend by execs who just have to have it . Honestly, I thought that was a late '80s, '90s thing when the Joe Eszterhas' of the writing world ran things and demanded top dollar. Well, I guess I was wrong. Comedian Eddie Griffin's (Double Take) script, a cross between Three Men and a Baby and Soul Food, was bought by Miramax for Griffin to star along with John Leguizamo, LL Cool J and Lil' Kim. Apparently Miramax always had the upper hand in getting the project because of its alliances with several of the factions involved. But I wonder how much they paid for a script that seems less than spectacular.
Just call him "Sloppy Seconds" Frankenheimer
To be fair, the acclaimed director John Frankenheimer has made some action-packed and fascinating films in his career. Films such as the 1962 The Manchurian Candidate, 1966's Seconds and the 1977 Black Sunday. But lately he's been slipping, especially with last year's dismal Reindeer Games. And now he is set to direct the prequel to The Exorcist. What? We find out how the devil gets into little Reagan's attic? No, the story apparently revolves around what happened to Father Merrin during his missionary work in post-World War II Africa, where he first encounters the Big Red Horned One. One will remember Max Von Sydow's account in the original Exorcist, with brief flashbacks showing some poor African being possessed. Honestly, do we care? The most noteworthy part of this deal, however, is that Frankenheimer is once again following the footsteps of director William Friedkin. Most won't remember but Frankenheimer directed The French Connection II, a sequel to the original classic directed by Friedkin. Maybe those powers that be approached Friedkin about doing these sequels and he said, "Naw, I don't want to do it. But ask John. He'll go for it."

Title

Along with mogul David Geffen and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, formed DreamWorks SKG, a multimedia entertainment company for the production of live-action and animated features, TV programming, music and interactive software

First collaboration with executive producer George Lucas and first collaboration with actor Harrison Ford, "Raiders of the Lost Ark"; garnered second Best Director Academy Award nomination

Directed his most commercially successful feature "Jurassic Park"; film outgrossed "E.T." to become the top movie of all time

Won first contest with 40-minute war film, "Escape to Nowhere" at age 13

Helmed the blockbuster "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"; also served as one of the producers; became the top-grossing movie of all time pulling in $399 million in its initial release; earned third Best Director Oscar nomination as well as a Best Picture nod;

Directed the sequel "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"

Invested in a CD-ROM company Knowledge Adventure; participated in the creation of five titles

Directed the WWI-set drama "War Horse," based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo and the 2007 stage adaptation of the same name

Co-produced and directed his most critically acclaimed feature "Schindler's List"; first feature shot in black-and-white

Served as a founding member and VP of the Artists Rights Foundation

Produced the Clint Eastwood directed WWII dramas, "Flags of Our Fathers" and the companion piece "Letters from Iwo Jima"; earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture as the producer of "Iwo Jima"

Witnessed rare film flop with the large-scale comedy "1941"

Received story credit on the premiere episode of "High Incident," an ABC cop drama; the first hour-long dramatic series from DreamWorks; was reportedly involved with production, casting and operating a camera during portions of the pilot

Helmed the less successful "Always," a remake of the 1943 feature "A Guy Named Joe"; third film with Richard Dreyfuss

Signed a one-year deal to produce "seaQuest DSV" a 22-episode series, a joint effort between Universal and Amblin Entertainment

Re-teamed with Michael Bay (who directed) to produce the sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

With the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, served as presenter of "Broken Silence," a series of five documentaries about Holocaust survivors; aired on Cinemax

First film as producer, "Poltergeist," helmed by Tobe Hooper

Helmed the lavish "Peter Pan" update "Hook" starring Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter and Dustin Hoffman as the title character

Returned to direct the fourth installment of the adventure series "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," starring Harrison Ford in the title role

Reunited with Tom Hanks, who co-starred as an FBI agent pursuing the first teenager ever to make the Ten Most Wanted list (Leonardo DiCaprio) in "Catch Me If You Can"

Re-teamed with Tom Hanks to executive produce HBO's 10-part miniseries "The Pacific," which earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Miniseries

Helmed "Amistad," a film based on a real-life 19th-century legal case involving slaves who staged a mutiny on the ship carrying them to North America; author Barbara Chase-Riboud claimed that the film's script was based in part on her book; subsequent thr

Signed to seven-year contract as TV director with Universal-MCA

First TV series as executive producer, "Amazing Stories" (NBC)

Returned to filmmaking with "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," based on a story by the late Stanley Kubrick; also wrote screenplay

Helmed the "Kick the Can" segment of "Twilight Zone – The Movie"

Professional debut with 24-minute short, "Amblin" (shown at Atlanta Film Festival)

Once again collaborated with Tom Cruise for "War of the Worlds," a remake of the 1953 film, which chronicles a Martian invasion of Earth

Executive produced "Into the West," (TNT) a saga spanning 65 years of U.S. history from 1825 to 1890; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Miniseries

TV acting debut as himself in a segment of "The Tracey Ullman Show" (Fox)

Made a cameo appearance as the Cook County Clerk at the end of John Landis's "The Blues Brothers"

Helmed "Munich," a film based on the book Vengeance; detailed the tragic aftermath of the 1972 Munich Olympics; received Academy nominations for Directing and Best Picture and a Golden Globe nomination for Directing; was also nominated by the Direc

Made first 8mm (3 1/2 min.) film while in grade school; set up a tree-planting business to pay for film and equipment while in teens

Formed the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation to videotape the testimonies of Holocaust survivors

First feature-length film for TV, "Duel" (ABC)

Produced and directed "Lincoln" about the 16th U.S. President, starring Daniel Day-Lewis

Made the underrated WWII drama "Empire of the Sun," which featured a young Christian Bale in his acting debut

Wrote story for feature film "Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies"

Feature directorial debut, "The Sugarland Express"

Breakthrough feature film, the summer blockbuster "Jaws"; also first collaboration with actor Richard Dreyfuss; film brought in 100 days over schedule (and comparably over budget); reportedly the first director to do so

Executive produced the hit Sci-Fi Channel miniseries "Taken"

Produced and directed "The Color Purple," adapted from Alice Walker's novel; movie received 11 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, but not one for Best Director

Teamed with Mark Burnett for "On the Lot," an "American Idol"-meets-
"The Apprentice" Fox reality series

Co-produced the J. J. Abrams directed thriller "Super 8"

Bounced back with the acclaimed WWII story "Saving Private Ryan," starring Tom Hanks; earned second Best Director Academy Award

With wife Kate Capshaw, co-hosted "Shattered Lullabies" – a documentary on high infant mortality rates in America; broadcast on Lifetime as an episode of "Your Family Matters"

Made first amateur 8mm feature film, "Firelight" at age 16; father hired local theater to screen film

Announced that DreamWorks SKG would grant their filmmakers "moral rights" to protect the original versions of their films after release

Formed production company Amblin Entertainment

Executive produced "Transformers," the live action film based on the franchise and toy line

Directed the second sequel "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"

Helmed the sequel "The Lost World: Jurassic Park"

Summary

Perhaps the world's most famous filmmaker, Steven Spielberg succeeded in combining the intimacy of personal vision with the requirements of the modern commercial blockbuster. Though his astonishing success delayed his acceptance as a serious artist for decades, few denied that Spielberg's work decisively influenced 20th century filmmaking through his potent imagery and universally recognizable emotion. With "Jaws" (1975), he made the first movie to cross the $100 million mark at the box office and ushered in an era of summer blockbusters that remained the status quo for decades. Over the next three decades, Spielberg directed some of cinema's most successful movies - "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981), "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), "Jurassic Park" (1993) and "Minority Report" (2002) were all major financial successes as well as highly entertaining films. If nothing else, Spielberg's films were landmarks in special effects, both in their visual and aural aspects, as well as in the audience response they elicited. His most poignant films - "The Color Purple" (1985), "Schindler's List" (1993), "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) and "Munich" (2005) - earned Academy Award consideration and cemented his place as one of Hollywood's greatest directors. Spielberg turned creative mogul when he formed DreamWorks studios with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen in 1994, and still managed to pursue numerous philanthropic and cultural projects, most notably serving as chairman for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, all the while continuing to deliver beloved films that resonated with moviegoers the world over.

Name

Role

Comments

Leah Adler

Mother

Had four children with Arnold (Steven the youngest); married to second husband, Bernie Adler; they own a kosher dairy restaurant called The Milky Way on Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA

Bernie Adler

Step-Father

Married to Spielberg's mother; they own a kosher dairy restaurant called The Milky Way on Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA

Met when he cast her in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984); Married on Oct. 12, 1991 at Spielberg's East Hampton, Long Island, NY estate; she converted from Episcopalianism to Judaism c. 1993 after more than a year of study with an Orthodox rabbi

Born c. 1918; lost relatives in the Holocaust; involved in the early development of computers; divorced from Spielberg's mother; remarried on April 6, 1997; World War II veteran whose war stories inspired his son Steven to make "Saving Private Ryan" (1998)

Born c. 1988; African-American; Adopted by Kate Capshaw before her marriage to Spielberg; later adopted by Spielberg

Nancy Spielberg

Sister

Born in 1956

Sue Spielberg

Sister

Born in 1953

Education

Name

Saratoga High School

California State College

Notes

During a routine physical in February 2000, Spielberg's doctor discovered "an irregularity" that resulted in the director undergoing surgery to remove one of his kidneys.

"Spielberg was far more collaborative than I ever imagined he would be. He really wanted ideas and encouraged people to give their input. Everyone had told me he shoots fast and that was so true, it makes your head spin. I had also been told he is very technical, which I didn't find at all. He was far more of an actor's director." – Jude Law to The Daily Telegraph, Feb. 17, 2001

He anonymously purchased Clark Gable's 1934 Oscar for a record $550,000, then donated it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In January 2001, he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his extraordinary contributions to the entertainment industry.

"I don't think that 'Jaws' would do as well today as it did in 1975, because people would not wait so long to see the shark. Or they'd say there's too much time between the first attack and the second attack. Which is too bad. We have an audience now that isn't patient with us. They've been taught, by people like me, to be impatient with people like me." – Spielberg to The New York Times, June, 16, 2002

Spielberg received an honorary doctorate degree from Yale University in 2002.

"Sam [Neill] does a phenomenal job, but my first choice was Harrison. I went to the art department, and I had them do a photo-realistic painting of the T. rex chasing Harrison with two kids, and put Harrison's face on the character of the archaeologist, and sent the script, the book, and the picture to Harrison. The next day I got a call, and he said, 'This is not for me, pal.' That was the end of the conversation." – Spielberg on Harrison Ford, his first choice to star in 1993's "Jurassic Park", quoted in Entertainment Weekly, Dec. 9, 2011

"My philosophy now is that every single movie is a signpost of its time, and it should stand for that. We shouldn't go back and change the parting of the Red Sea in Cecil B. DeMille's 'The Ten Commandments' just because with digital tools we now can make that even more spectacular that it was." – Spielberg quoted in Entertainment Weekly, Dec. 9, 2011

"Spielbergian images suffuse the planet's collective consciousness." – Nancy Griffin in her article "Manchild in the Promised Land" in Premiere magazine, June 1989

"[Director Sidney] Lumet says, 'I just feel he is the most brilliant purely cinematic talent that I have seen. He is a thrilling, thrilling moviemaker.' He scoffs at Spielberg's detractors' judgment that he can't cut it with grown-up material. 'I'm sorry. That's bullshit,' says Lumet. 'Spielberg's talent is so rich, it's going to take him a lifetime to explore; he could go in so many directions.'" – from "Manchild in the Promised Land" by Nancy Griffin in Premiere magazine, June 1989

Spielberg was awarded The Order of the Smile in 1993 by the older children of Poland for being a role model and hero. A previous recipient of the award was the Pope.

"'Schindler's List' brings a preeminent pop mastermind together with a story that demands the deepest reserves of courage and passion. Rising brilliantly to the challenge of this material and displaying an electrifying creative intelligence, Mr. Spielberg has made sure that neither he nor the Holocaust will ever be thought of in the same way again. With every frame, he demonstrates the power of the film maker to distill complex events into into fiercely indelible images." – Janet Maslin, "Imagining the Holocaust to Remember It" in The New York Times, Dec. 15, 1993

"Its one identifiable Spielberg trademark is its total command of cinema; what's new is a seriousness of purpose and level of filmmaking fury not seen since the director's early works." – Mike Clark, "'Schindler's List' is Spielberg's Triumph" from USA Today, Dec. 15, 1993

"According to my mom, I'm such a big shot that she's threatening to have her uterus bronzed." – Spielberg to People magazine, March 21, 1994

"I never felt comfortable with myself, because I was never part of the majority. I always felt awkward and shy and on the outside of the momentum of my friends' lives. I was never on the inside of that. I was always on the outside.

"I felt like an alien. I always felt like I never belonged to any group that I wanted to belong to. Unlike Woody Allen, you know, I WANTED to become a member of the country club." – from "We Can't Just Sit Back And Hope" by Dotson Rader, Parade magazine, March 27, 1994

He received an honorary doctorate from USC on May 6, 1994.

The Righteous Persons Foundation was established with Spielberg's earnings from "Schindler's List" to fund projects which impact on modern Jewish life (e.g. "to engage Jewish youth, to support the arts, to promote tolerance and to strengthen the commitment to social justice"). As of fall 1995, the foundation had made 30 grants totaling nearly $10 million. The organization projected to distribute more than $40 million over its first decade of existence.

Spielberg received an honorary doctorate from New York University in 1996.

In April 1999, he donated $500,000 to USC's Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts.

Spielberg received the Defense Department Public Service Award on Aug. 11, 1999.

Spielberg once owned a sandwich shop in L.A. called Dive, which closed in 1999.